FR2554936A1 - INFORMATION EXCHANGE SYSTEM WITH ELECTRONIC LABELS - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INFORMATION EXCHANGE SYSTEM OF THE INVENTION INCLUDES ELECTRONIC LABELS CARRIED BY MOBILE OBJECTS, AND FIXED TRANSMISSION ORGANS PROVIDED IN WORKSTATIONS. ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION, THE FIXED ORGANS HAVE AN INTELLIGENCE 18 TO 20 ALLOWING THEM TO CONTROL A WORK PROCESS WITHOUT REQUIRING IT AT ANY TIME TO REFER TO A REMOTE MANAGEMENT. APPLICATION: AUTOMATED PRODUCTION LINES.

Description

The present invention relates to a system

  exchange of information with electronic tags.

  For transmitting information, in particular in an industrial environment, in several different places, each time between a mobile object and a fixed information transmission member, all the fixed members being connected to a management center, this center being connected, if necessary, to machines controlled by said object and / or performing interventions on this object, it is known to provide this object with what is known as a

  "electronic label" means a device comprising essentially

  a writable and erasable memory, a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit. The electronic tag exchanges information with the fixed transmission member

  when it is close to it.

  When the transmission members are in large

  number in an installation, and that they cooperate simultaneously

  each with a mobile object, the information exchanged between them can not all be processed or controlled simultaneously, especially if they are long, by the management center, which slows down the process to which they are subject.

moving objects.

  The present invention relates to a device for the exchange of information simultaneously between a large number of fixed transmission members forming part of the same installation and the electronic tags of the same number of moving objects each being in front of a fixed transmission member, without slowing down the process to which said objects are subjected, even when the information exchanged is long and numerous. The device subject of the invention must be easily adapted to a large number of applications or be easily modified during modifications in the process

of an installation.

  The present invention relates to an installation of the

  aforementioned type in which each fixed transmission member

  sion is of the type comprising a modulator-demodulator for connection to a remote management center, a circuit for

  reception and a transmission circuit connected to a

  decoder, and, where appropriate, a transmission circuit

  power to supply energy to the electronic circuits

  electronic tags, and in which each electronic tag is of the type comprising a receiving circuit and a transmission circuit and a non-volatile memory writable and erasable, and according to the invention is provided in each fixed transmission member a circuit of local exploitation of information related to the modulator and

  the demodulator and the encoder-decoder.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the local information operating circuit comprises a microprocessor connected to a program memory in

  which are stored all the basic instructions

  necessary for all the processes that can be performed by the microprocessor on the information exchanged between the electronic tags and the transmission members and between them and the devices they can control and the devices they receive.

  external information, and this microprocessor is also

  connected to a data memory in which are stored, for the application in question, the data for linking all or part of said basic instructions to form a treatment program

  specific application.

  The present invention will be better understood with the help of

  the detailed description of an embodiment taken as

  non-limiting example and illustrated by the attached drawing whose single figure is a block diagram of a fixed member of

  transmission of information according to the invention.

  The plant to which the present invention applies is, for example, an automated industrial production line in which the mobile objects to be machined and / or treated and / or manipulated are each provided with an electronic label (not shown ), for example of the type described in the French patent application No. 80 25035. These objects pass in successive processing stations and / or machining and / or handling each provided with a fixed information transmission member arranged in such a way that the electronic tags, themselves properly arranged on the moving objects, pass as close as possible to this organ when these objects pass through said stations, and can exchange

  with him information concerning, in particular, the identifica-

  objects, the various operations they have already undergone, that they must undergo in the post, their future destination, etc. ... The various fixed organs of information transmission are connected to a management center. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to such an application, but can be used practically in all cases where several fixed members are able to exchange information simultaneously with an electronic tag carried by a user. mobile object having to pass, and if necessary to stop,

before this body.

  The fixed transmission member shown in the drawing comprises an oscillator 1 connected to a power amplifier 2, itself connected to a coil 3 which, by induction, transmits to a corresponding coil, forming part of a circuit tuned to the frequency of the oscillator 1, disposed in an electronic tag (known per se and not shown), the energy required for the tag to exchange information with the fixed member when

  the label passes close to this organ.

  The transmission member then comprises a second oscillator 4 connected to an amplifier 5 which is itself connected to a transmission coil 6. The oscillator 4 is furthermore connected to a modulator 7 controlled by the encoding output. an encoder-decoder 8 of the Manchester type. The modulator 7 acts, for example, by breaking the oscillating circuit of

the oscillator 4.

  The transmission member comprises a third oscillator

  9 of which the coil 10 of the tuned circuit serves as a reception coil of the signal emitted by the electronic tag,

  whether or not it absorbs eddy currents. The ab-

  signal sorption causes a decrease in the amplitude of the output voltage of the oscillator 9. This amplitude variation is demodulated by a demodulator 11, connected to the output of the oscillator 9, which comprises a rectifying diode 12 followed by a capacitor 13. The output of the demodulator 11 is connected to a circuit 14 for filtering and

  formatting comprising for example a Schmitt trigger.

  The output of the circuit 14 is connected to the decoding input of the

circuit 8.

  The serial output S.0. decoded signals of the circuit 8 is connected to a series-parallel conversion circuit 15, and its serial input S.I. of signals to be encoded is connected to the

  output of a parallel-series conversion circuit 16.

  The parallel output of the circuit 15 and the parallel input of the circuit 16 are connected to the bus 17 of a microprocessor 18. The microprocessor 18 is associated with a program memory 19 in which are stored all the elementary instructions necessary for all the processing operations. to be performed by the microprocessor 18 on

  information exchanged between electronic labels

  the transmission organ and between the micropro-

  and all circuits and devices connected to it as described below. These basic instructions are for example: reading a range of values (in the memory of the label), result of the reading of a range, reading of a zone of values result of the reading of a zone, writing worth in a

  beach, result of writing a beach, etc ...

  The microprocessor 18 is also associated with a memory 20, programmable by the user, which stores therein

  data linking all or part of the instruc-

  of memory 19 to constitute the program of

desired treatment.

  The microprocessor 18 is, on the other hand, connected to a serial transmission modulator 21 and to a demodulator 22 of

  serial reception which provide the link between the micropro-

  18 and the remote management center (not shown) which is connected in the same way to all the transmission members of the installation. The programming of the memory 20 can be done either by downloading a program via the demodulator 22, the memory 20 being in place in the transmission member, or outside the member, the memory 20, removable, being removed and arranged in a suitable programming apparatus. The microprocessor 18 is finally connected via an I / O expander 23 to an output interface 24 and to an input interface 25. The interfaces 24 and 25, which comprise for example optoelectronic insulators, are connected, not shown, to sensors, servomechanisms, and other devices necessary for the workstation, in which is implanted the information transmission member in question, to detect the correct position of an object in this position, to manipulate it, to trigger machining processes, to

evacuate this object, etc ...

  The outputs DR (Data Received, that is to say data received) and SD (Send Data, that is to say sending data) of the

  8 are suitably connected to the micropro-

  18. The coil 3 is connected via a resistor R of appropriate value to the input of clock signals of the circuit 8. The frequencies of the oscillators 1, 4 and 9 are selected in the same way as for the circuits of FIG. art

prior.

  The microprocessor 18 is finally connected to a modula-

  demodulator 26, itself connected to a peripheral device

  27 that can be a printer, a keyboard introduc-

  data, a pocket calculator with appropriate connections, a video monitor, etc. The peripheral member 27 is disposed near the data transmitting member and allows localization (ie say at the workstation itself) monitoring and / or maintenance and / or modification of the data of the memory 20, which is particularly advantageous in case of

failure of the management center.

  - When an electronic tag is attached to an object that is going to be subjected to an industrial process in a processing plant, this cItItLtH may already contain data concerning this object, or be virgin.

  or carry any data unrelated to the object.

  In any case, the data relating to the object can be introduced and stored in the label using the transmission member described above which is then placed upstream of the production line, or at a first time.

  post, respectively. This organ allows both

  completely erase the non-volatile memory of the label by introducing new data or modifying certain data, just as it was possible with

organs of the prior art.

  At each work station, the data stored in the label are read by the data transmission member and operated by its microprocessor 18. The microprocessor 18 controls, via the circuits 23 and 24, the start-up of the devices. machining, processing or manipulation of the workstation as soon as it received, position sensors connected to the circuit 25, the information that the object is in its correct place in the workstation. When the work is finished, appropriate sensors signal it to the microprocessor via the circuits and 23, and the microprocessor eventually controls the registration of new data in the label (kind of work that has just been done, work to be done subsequently, next destination, etc ...) and control, via the circuits 23 and 24, the evacuation of the object towards the

  next workstation or to a storage area).

  At any moment, the microprocessor 18 can communicate with the remote management center via the circuits 21 and 22, but this dialogue is generally very limited because it is the microprocessor 18 itself that supervises all the work

performed at the workstation.

  The dialogue between the microprocessor 18 and the remote management center can be quite short, delayed compared to the work supervised by the microprocessor, and even be very infrequent. This dialogue can for example be reduced to stop orders issued by the management center in the event of a failure occurring in the production line, and to statistical counts of the different jobs performed during a given period. As stated above, the data can be modified from the management center.

stored in the memory 20.

  Therefore, the local information operating circuit of the invention allows a large number of workstations to operate simultaneously by operating in a decentralized manner the information contained in the electronic tags without interfering with each other, and therefore to not slow down the operation of the

production line.

Claims (4)

  1- electronic tag information exchange system, comprising workstations provided with fixed data transmission members, the objects passing through these workstations being provided with labels   electronic devices with erasable non-volatile memory and   tible, wherein each fixed transmission member is of the type comprising a remote management center remote control connection modulator-demodulator (21, 22), an encoder-decoder (8) connected to a reception circuit (9, 10, 11). , 14) and to a transmission circuit (4 to 7), and including, where appropriate, a power transmission circuit (1 to 3) for supplying   energy the electronic circuits of electronic labels   and in which each electronic tag is of the type comprising a reception circuit, a transmission circuit, and said non-volatile memory, characterized in that a local operating circuit is provided in each fixed transmission member. information   (15 to 20) connected to the modulator and the demodulator.   2- system for exchanging information according to the   cation 1, characterized in that the circuit of   information store includes a microprocessor (18) connected to a program memory (19) in which   memorized all the basic instructions required   all the processes that may be performed by the microprocessor on the information exchanged between the electronic tags and the transmission members and between these and the devices that they can control   as well as the devices from which they receive information   the microprocessor is also connected to a data memory (20) in which are stored, for the application in question, the data making it possible to link all or part of said elementary instructions to   constitute a specific treatment program for the application considered.   3- System of exchange of information according to the claim   2, characterized in that the microprocessor is connected via an I / O expander (23) to an input interface (25) and an output interface (24) for exchanging information between I transmission organ and the devices from which it receives information   and the devices it controls.   4- System of information exchange according to one   of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that   that the microprocessor is also connected via a modula-   demodulator (26) to a peripheral member (27) disposed near the data transmission member and for locally performing the monitoring and / or maintenance and / or modification of the data of said data memory (20).